Juicy Brined Roast Chicken
A whole chicken soaked overnight in a maple, citrus, and fresh herb brine, then roasted with butter tucked under the skin and finished covered so the meat stays juicy all the way through. Save the bones, drippings, and giblets for homemade bone broth.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- Large heatproof bowl
- 4 quart bowl or stockpot that fits in your refrigerator
- Kettle
- Two 9x13 glass baking dishes
- Instant read thermometer
- Paper towels
- Gallon zip top bag
Ingredients
Brine
- 67 g fine sea salt for the brine such as Redmond Real Salt (¼ cup)
- 78 g pure maple syrup for the brine ¼ cup
- ½ orange for the brine or 1 whole mandarin or clementine
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary for the brine
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme for the brine
- 2 bay leaves for the brine
- 17 g whole black peppercorns for the brine about a palmful (2 tbsp)
- 3 garlic cloves for the brine crushed
- 946 g boiling water for the brine 4 cups
- Cold water to cover the chicken
- Ice optional, to cool the brine quickly
Chicken
- 1 whole chicken 4 to 5 pounds, giblets removed and saved
- Butter and Seasoning Rub
- 85 g salted or unsalted butter softened, for under the skin (6 tbsp)
- 1.6 g garlic powder for the rub ½ tsp
- 1.2 g onion powder for the rub ½ tsp
- 0.6 g dried rosemary for the rub crushed (½ tsp)
- 0.2 g ground sage for the rub ¼ tsp
- 0.6 g ground black pepper for the rub ¼ tsp
- 59 g water for the bottom of the baking dish ¼ cup
Instructions
- Add the salt, maple syrup, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, and crushed garlic to a large heatproof bowl. Squeeze the juice from the orange half into the bowl and drop the rind in too, or halve a whole mandarin and add both halves.
- Pour the boiling water over everything and stir for a few minutes until the salt and maple syrup are completely dissolved.
- Let the brine cool to room temperature, or stir in a few handfuls of ice to cool it right away. Never pour warm brine over raw chicken.
- Remove the giblets from the chicken. Place the chicken in a 4 quart bowl or stockpot that fits in your refrigerator, and add the giblets if you are saving them for bone broth.
- Pour the cooled brine over the chicken, then add cold water until the chicken is just covered.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours, ideally overnight.
- When you are ready to roast, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Lift the chicken out of the brine and pat it very dry inside and out with paper towels. There is no need to rinse it.
- Pull the rosemary, thyme, orange, garlic, and bay leaves out of the brine and tuck them into the cavity of the chicken. Discard the brine and peppercorns.
- Pat the giblets dry, seal them in a zip top bag, and refrigerate them for bone broth.
- Set the chicken breast side up in a 9x13 glass baking dish. Gently loosen the skin over each side of the breast with your fingers, then push 43g (3 tbsp) of the softened butter under the skin on each side and press it out to spread it across the breast.
- Stir together the garlic powder, onion powder, crushed rosemary, sage, and black pepper. Sprinkle it evenly over the dry skin and rub it in.
- Pour the water into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Roast uncovered at 425°F for 30 minutes, until the top is browned.
- Turn the second 9x13 baking dish upside down over the top of the first as a lid, or cover tightly with foil. Reduce the oven to 325°F and roast for 1½ hours more, until an instant read thermometer reads at least 165°F in the thickest part of the breast and the innermost part of the thigh.
- For crispier skin, remove the top dish for the last 5 minutes, switch the oven to broil, and watch closely so the skin does not burn.
- Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving. Save the drippings, carcass, skin, and cavity aromatics with the giblets for bone broth.
Notes
Salt by Weight
Weigh the salt if you can, because different salts measure very differently by volume. 67g is ¼ cup of a fine salt like Redmond Real Salt or fine pink Himalayan salt. If you use Morton kosher salt, 67g is about ¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons, and if you use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 67g is about ½ cup.
Sweetener Options
Swap the maple syrup for 53g (¼ cup packed) brown sugar, or use 124g (½ cup) apple cider for a gentle fall flavor.
Dried Herbs
No fresh herbs? Use 3.3g (1 tablespoon) dried rosemary and 1g (1 teaspoon) dried thyme in the brine. Dried herbs cannot go into the cavity, so just tuck in the orange, garlic, and bay leaves.
Brining Two Chickens
Double the brine and use an 8 quart bowl or stockpot. Set the chickens back to back with the breasts facing out into the brine, since the breast benefits most from brining. Two 4 to 5 pound chickens fit side by side in a 9x13 baking dish, with ¼ cup of water per chicken in the dish.
Roasting Time by Size
The times above are for a 4 to 5 pound chicken. For the covered part of the bake, start checking a 3 to 4 pound chicken after about 1 hour, give a 5 to 6 pound chicken about 1¾ to 2 hours, and give a 6 to 7 pound chicken about 2 to 2¼ hours. Always go by the thermometer, since two chickens in one dish can take a little longer.
Broiling in Glass
Many glass bakeware makers advise against using glass under the broiler. If that makes you nervous, bake with the lid off an additional few minutes.
Save Everything for Bone Broth
Keep the carcass, skin, drippings, giblets, and cavity aromatics together in the refrigerator and make your bone broth within a day or two, or freeze them until you are ready.
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days, or freeze the meat in portions for up to 3 months.
